An Experiment

My one grandson was going fishing with his outdoor recreation class. Well it was probably best that we set him up with a spinning rod or some sort. I went down to the basement and finally found a casting rod and reel. I put on 6 pound line and then I went to Canadian Tire to get some small bobbers. The plan was to hang flashbacks below a 25 cent bobber.

Well it was time for an experiment. I used my fly rod and Karen used the spinning rod with a bobber and two flashbacks about 5 feet down. Our set ups were the same except Karen had a bobber big enough so she could cast it out!

Well after and hour, it was a tie, 5 each! The only challenge that Karen had was setting the hook was a bit harder. It was a lot easier to cast, especially for our grandson. I hope his day on the water is lots of fun!

Sometimes, fly fishing with a spinning rod just makes sense. It certainly will help kids get out and have a chance to catch some trout!

 

Cow Lake

Karen and I decided to check out Cow Lake the other day. They stock so many trout in Cow Lake and we wanted to see if they were catchable or not! Well it was a beautiful day with a "chinook arch" stretching across the western sky. The water temperature was 61 to 63 degrees. Not bad. We looked for trout in all the usual places that we have caught them before. We only caught pike. We set up with Tokaryk Specials. There was about 2 feet of visibility in Cow Lake. We fished undercuts, deflections, etc. We hooked lots of pike but not a single trout. The pike are in great condition too.

We were not surprised by the result but disappointed that after stocking the lake with over 50 000 trout, rarely results in catching them. Hmmm, no wonder the pike are fat and happy!

Three years ago the trout fishing at Cow Lake was amazing. The trout had over wintered several years and they were big. I hope that will happen again. Cow Lake is such a fertile lake although it is shallow and often winter kills.

Go to Cow Lake and strip some streamers. Take some time to try for trout but be mainly ready to chase pike. They are lots of fun on a fly rod!

 

Flashback Pheasant Tails

Hi Everyone!

Do you have some Flashback Pheasant Tails in your lake fly box? I have been using them with a lot of success as of late. I have been using size 14. I hang them under a strike indicator or strip them. They imitate boatmen quite well. I love to twitch them. Yep even under an indicator or as I strip them. The takes are usually solid!

I modify the Flashbacks slightly with a full body shellback although you can limit the flash to just over the thorax. Add a few to your fly box.

Oh, and ... I love fly fishing in a river with Flashbacks! 

Flashback Pheasant Tail

Thread: Red or Olive 8/0

Hook: Daiichi 1120 size 14

Tail: Pheasant

Rib: Copper Wire, small copper

Flashback: Mirage Opal Tinsel, medium

Thorax: Peacock herl

Legs: Biots, brown

Tie in copper rib

Add Pheasant

Add in Mirage opal tinsel

wrap up pheasant

Add shellback then wrap up the copper wire rib

Add thorax

Add biots, then flip over mirage opal tinsel and whip finish

 

Boulder Lake

Yesterday, I spent two hours fly fishing at Boulder Lake. Boulder Lake is just west of Blackfalds about 7 km. I wandered along the north shore armed with flashbacks, size 14 and hung them about 5 to 6 feet below a strike indicator. I had steady action. I caught mostly stockies but I did catch a few rainbows from last fall in the 14 inch category! You do not need a boat although a float tube would get you into areas shore fisherman cannot! Great little lake.

No algae and quite clear. Give it a go!

 

Brians BMW (Brian's Marabou Wiggler)

A few days ago, we found damsel nymphs in a throat sample. My buddy Rick was already fly fishing with a BMW tied balanced. It is a very simple fly to tie once you build the chassis for the fly. The chassis is a size 14 jig hook, a sequin pin and a 7/64ths tungsten bead, copper or gold. The tail and body is olive marabou and the rib is copper or red coloured small wire. I am sure these tasty flies would have been successful tied with a nymph hook of your liking too!

Sometimes no flash is good, just simple earthy colours can get the takes. I laughed at Rick when he told me he tied up a few of these at 2 am the night before we went out! Rick claims the best meal to eat just before fly tying is Kentucky Fried Chicken. Do you think he washed his hands or just pulling my leg!

Enjoy the weekend. Looks like another fabulous two days for fly fishing! I'd love to hear from you abou your adventures.

Brian's Marabou Wiggler (BMW)-Tied Balanced -Brian Chan Originator

Thread: Olive 8/0

Hook: Jig size 14 plus a pin

Bead: 7/64ths copper, tungsten

Rib: small copper or red wire

Tail: Olive marabou

Body: Olive Marabou

Not tied balanced but you get the idea.

 

Birch Lake

Hi Everyone!

Rick, Doug and I hit Birch Lake yesterday out by Caroline. Birch Lake has brookies, rainbows and browns in it! The big challenge at Birch is to get out on the lake. You have to negotiate a hill with your gear and that involves some grunting. Luckily we had Doug's wheels to put under our two prams to get our boats to the water.

Once set up we saw that the water was 63F. Over the course of the day, the surface water temperature got just over 64F.

It took a while to connect with a trout. Rick did it with the full sink line "dangling" with a blob! The fish for the most part were cruising deep and eating daphnia. We concentrated on fly fishing the edges of the deeper areas. Throat samples continued to show the trout were eating daphnia but also boatmen, backswimmers, damsel nymphs (immature) and hyalella shrimp (the tiny ones).

We had the most success using a size 14 balanced flashback ( a regular flashback would have been fine too) and a size 14 balanced BMW (Brian's Marabou Leech) in olive. Our best depth was 5 to 6 feet below a strike indicator in 11 to 13 feet of water on the edge of drop offs. We did cast and retrieve flashbacks as well. We picked up a few fish later in the day doing just that! We did have some success with blobs earlier in the day.

I think we still have to wait until water temperatures come down a bit for the boatmen/backswimmer action to really heat up!

It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed being out on the water with my good friends. 

Birch Lake Brookie

Hyalella Shrimp

Boatmen/Backswimmers and daphnia

 

An Update Around Central Alberta-Some Sad News

 Hi Everyone!

Can you believe this amazing September weather? In all honestly, I hope the weather cools soon and that will allow lake water temperatures to lower. Water temperatures on most lakes remains around 65F in Central Alberta. That is a bit high for this time of the year!

Yesterday, Rick and I were out west of Red Deer. The lake conditions were perfect except water temperatures were a bit high. The boatmen and backswimmer action was light. Luckily we brought blobs, micro leeches and flashbacks. I was hoping for a boatmen fall, no dice!

Today, Karen and I stopped by the Fish and Game Pond. It is dreadfully low. We went out in the boat to take a look. The algae, lake wide is thick and it is next to impossible to get your fly in the game without it being covered in algae.

Fish and Game Pond is in trouble!

We then swung over to Dickson Trout Pond and I was shocked to find out our largest lake in Central Alberta now has perch in it and lots of them. Karen and I did catch some trout but on one of our stops on the lake (which was in excellent condition), we started to catch perch. In an hour we caught 20 perch! Dickson Trout Pond will now be another destroyed trout fishery. It is sad to see and for me a real "gut punch!"  How did the perch get in there? I suspect planted by some very inconsiderate individuals.

I also had a report that Kerbes Pond is a slimy mess and not worth the drive east!

At the moment, hit your favourite river or head to the west country lakes.

Sadly Dickson Trout Pond has been "Perched!" I was snearing too!

Enjoying Boatmen and Backswimmers

Karen and I have been enjoying this amazing summer like weather out on our local pot hole lakes this past week. Yes, the boatmen are happening and to a lesser extent backswimmers (larger ones). It has been a very interesting week. Water temperatures are slowly coming down but not as fast as years past. Nevertheless boatmen have been coming off. Three days ago Karen and I were fly fishing with micro leaches until the boatmen started to swim to the surface and fly off. The rainbows, tigers and browns were definitely chasing and cruising looking for these delectable morsels to dine on. The interesting thing was the action did not get going until 2:30 pm. We tied on our trusty water floatmen and another pattern called Rinse and Repeat (...a Phil Rowley pattern, that will be out on You Tube shortly). I love to cast and retrieve a beaded boatmen and a floatman type pattern. The beaded pattern trails about 2 feet behind the floater. When the action gets good, I switch to two floaters. I like to make it move as soon as it hits the water. Karen got broken off by some big trout. Is it a stockie or is it a bigger fish?!

... yesterday, Karen and I were at Ironside Pond just outside of Rocky Mountain House. The boatmen action was not hot and heavy. What we observed was quite different. Lots of rainbows and tigers chase the boatmen as they head to the surface. Remember that the main area of the lake is quite deep (40 feet). The boatmen do not linger on the surface. They pop right out and fly. If you cover the chasing fish with a cast, often they are already gone. Contrast that with the "edges" where you can find cruising fish that will gulp down a boatmen and then carry on looking for more. These fish were not deep and seemed to be a bit more catchable. It was interesting to watch the trout behaviour. I had trout in the shallows swirl around my flies, refuse and carry on. These fish wanted the boatmen to be motionless.  I saw Todd from our club do well on this day. Karen and I caught a few but for the most part we were snubbed. The shallows on a bright sunny day had spooky fish. The fish had definitely played this game before.

I talked to Adam from our club about his experience. His best presentation was under a strike indicator. His presentation was static, ...very little movement!

Three different days, three completely different experiences. Well as you can see, more research is in order by everyone. I'd love to hear your experiences! Drop me a note.

...on the downside, someone left a nasty 4 foot scrape on our car yesterday. I was hoping they would have left a note. Sigh. 

Enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend. A small bit of advice. Turn left instead of turning right, haha!

Deer Hair Backswimmer (thanks to the gentleman who slipped this great fly to Karen)

Jennings Ultimate Boatmen

Rinse and Repeat

 

Unplugged in the Backcountry

A few days in the backcountry in Banff National Park was just what Karen and I needed. Getting unplugged and immerse ourselves in fly fishing and nature is always welcome. We always feel recharged and happy! We are lucky we can hoist a pack full of our camping and fly fishing gear and hike. The rocky mountains call us all the time. We love getting off of the beaten path for a few precious days. We have been in the backcountry several times this summer. We appreciate every moment we can get enjoying one of the most spectacular places in the world. The amazing thing for us is the fact that the mountains are just a few hours from our front door! 

We have been to these lakes before. The fly fishing was amazing.

...and the best part, it was all dry fly fly fishing. Chernobyls rock!

The smokey sunset with larch in the foreground!

You have to celebrate a fabulous trip!